Toxin May Have Caused UK Sea Life Deaths, Say Scientists

The government faces fresh questions over an ecological disaster on England's North East coast after scientists revealed sea life may have been killed by a manmade toxin.

- Anna Isaac

The chemical pyridine, used in industrial processes, could be the cause of mass die-offs of crabs and lobsters since October last year, a team of scientists from Durham, Newcastle, Hull, and York have determined, according to a draft report seen by The Independent.

The findings contradict a joint agency report led by the Department for Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Defra), which found the toxin was not present in waters where sea life had washed up dead from the Tees estuary down the coast to Whitby and Scarborough. Instead, the report said an algal bloom was likely to be the cause of the deaths, despite finding concentrations of pyridine in samples of dead crabs. Dr Gary Caldwell, a scientist at Newcastle University, said in a statement: “Our findings demonstrate that Defra’s position is now untenable.”

Joe Redfern, a marine biologist and fisherman added: “The results from the investigations should change the way we think about not only the recent mass mortality events that have impacted our coastline but also the way we think about dredging and marine pollution all over the world.” The fresh evidence follows an Independent investigation revealing claims from officials that they had been subjected to political pressure to push forward the algal bloom hypothesis when, in their view, further investigation was required.